Brad Bird Thinks ‘1906’ Would “Lend Itself” To Multiple Episodes As TV Miniseries About S.F. Earthquake
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- Brad Bird said at SDCC 2026 that his adaptation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake would "lend itself to multiple episodes," envisioning an eight-episode run that balances the "detail of successive episodes" with the "size of a giant movie."
- Bird has tried to adapt James Dalessandro's 2004 novel about the earthquake since 2007, and dismissed internet rumors that the project died due to budget overruns, saying "We never got that far."
- The 1906 earthquake and fire killed more than 3,000 people and destroyed more than 80% of San Francisco, a scope Bird said kept expanding as he researched: "The deeper I dug, the more stuff I [had to include]."
- Patton Oswalt prompted the miniseries reveal via video message, also sneaking in a question about Ratatouille 2, while composer Michael Giacchino showed up in person to try (and fail) to pry Incredibles 3 details out of Bird.
- Bird offered no new updates on Incredibles 3 beyond confirming he is writing the film and working with director Peter Sohn.
- Ray Gunn, Bird's animated spy noir film, got its first seven minutes screened at the panel; the film features voices from Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits, and arrives on Netflix Dec. 18.
Why it matters: Bird's shift from a film to an eight-episode limited series changes the economics and ambition of the project, giving him room to include the exponentially expanding historical detail he said kept killing the movie version. For Netflix, which is releasing Bird's Ray Gunn in December, landing a prestige period miniseries from a director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille would be a notable get.
